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Learn how to make vegan fish sauce at home with just 5 ingredients. This savory condiment is the secret to elevating your dishes to a new level! Whether it’s enhancing dipping sauces and marinades or adding depth to curries and soups, this plant-based fish sauce offers endless possibilities!
⭐️ Why You Should Try It
- Aromatic. Packed with plenty of umami, this vegan fish sauce will add depth and complex flavors to any dish. It will quickly become your secret ingredient!
- Saltiness is on point. I ensured this plant-based version had the same sodium level as a traditional fish sauce so that you can use it as a 1:1 replacement.
- Cheaper than store-bought. This homemade version turns out to be about 3 times cheaper than store-bought bottles and tastes just as good, if not better!
How does it compare to commercial versions?
We compared this homemade vegan fish sauce with two commercial Vietnamese brands (Lien Thanh and Au Lac), one made from pineapples and the other from fermented soybeans. To do our test, one tablespoon of vegan fish sauce was diluted with one tablespoon of sugar and three tablespoons of water. Here are the results:
- Lien Thanh: Since this brand uses pineapple, it tastes incredibly close to our version. However, according to the label, this vegan fish sauce contains many preservatives and a “synthetic fish sauce flavor”, which gives it a not-so-natural flavor. A bottle of 500ml cost us $12.
- Au Lac: Surprisingly, this brand smells like authentic fish sauce. It has a powerful fermented aroma, with notes that remind me of natto. We personally thought its flavor was a bit too funky and not as aromatic as the others. One bottle of 500ml cost us $6.
- Our version: Our version has a slightly stronger pineapple flavor compared to the Lien Thanh brand but tastes much more natural. It’s also very aromatic and the saltiness is on par with the two other brands. Our homemade vegan fish sauce costs around $2 for 500ml.
📘 What Is Fish Sauce
Fish sauce (Nước Mắm in Vietnamese) is a liquid condiment made from fermenting anchovies (or other types of fish) in salt for 3 to 12 months. The result is a golden brown liquid with a salty, pungent, and umami-packed flavor.
Fish sauce has been used for thousands of years in Southeast Asia to make dipping sauces and to enhance the flavors of dishes like curries, stir-fries, soups, and more.
🍍 Ingredient Notes
This plant-based fish sauce recipe requires only 5 easy-to-find ingredients. Here is what you will need:
- Pineapple – Use ripe and sweet pineapple for the best flavor. Not only will it bring a delicate fruity aroma, but also a natural sweetness.
- Shiitake mushroom – For a depth of flavor and extra umami. Use dried shiitakes.
- Salt – Regular table salt works great here. Be aware that while the amount of salt might sound like a lot, it’s required to reach the same level of saltiness as regular fish sauce.
- Sugar – Use rock sugar, also called rock candy, to add a light yellow color to the sauce.
- Dark soy sauce – We won’t use dark soy sauce for flavor but to give the sauce a darker color.
- MSG – A pinch of monosodium glutamate helps enhance the overall flavor of this “fish” sauce. It is optional but highly recommended!
Note: While authentic fish sauce does have a funky smell, it doesn’t have a “fishy” or “ocean” flavor. Hence, there is no need to add any seaweed here.
🥣 How to Make It
Prepare the pineapple
- Slice the pineapple. Lay the pineapple on a cutting board and cut off the top and bottom parts. Next, slice the pineapple into 1-inch thick slices. Cut off the peel and discard.
- Cut it into chunks. Slice each slice into quarters and set aside.
Simmer
- Soak the shiitake mushroom. Place the dried shiitake mushroom in a small bowl and cover it with 100ml of hot water. Let it rehydrate for about 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a saucepan. Transfer the soaking water of the shiitake, pineapple chunks, and water to a saucepan.
- Let simmer. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes uncovered.
- Add the salt and simmer again. Next, add the salt, rehydrated shiitake mushroom, and sugar, and let simmer for another 35-40 minutes, or until it has reduced to 330ml.
Strain
Finally, strain the fish sauce and discard the pineapple chunks. You can now stir in the dark soy sauce, giving your fish sauce a beautiful golden brown color.
To store the fish sauce, transfer it to a clean glass bottle and keep it in the refrigerator.
🍜 Where to Use It
You can use fish sauce to add saltiness and umami to various dishes! It works particularly well in Vietnamese, Thai, and Cambodian recipes. Here are a few ideas on where to use it:
- To make Nước Chấm: Nuoc cham is a Vietnamese dipping sauce that is often served with vegan egg rolls, banh xeo, or banh hoi. It consists of fish sauce diluted with water and combined with sugar, lime juice, garlic, and chopped chili.
- In curries: Enhance your curries by replacing the salt with this vegan fish sauce! It does wonders in a green Thai curry or Vietnamese curry!
- In marinades: Marinade vegan chicken, tofu, tempeh, or seitan.
- In stir-fries: Use it to season broccoli, pak choi, or mixed vegetable stir-fries.
- To make sauces: You can also use this fish sauce as a base to make Pad Thai sauce or use it to season homemade kimchi.
- In soups: Just like for curries, you can replace the salt with vegan fish sauce in soups to give them a kick of flavor.
📔 Tips
- Measure the liquid after simmering. It is essential to measure the amount of liquid left after simmering. You will need 330ml left in order to get the saltiness on point. If you have more, let it simmer for a few more minutes. If you have less, add water until it reaches 330ml.
- Store in the refrigerator. While you could store it at room temperature, keeping it in the refrigerator is preferable to preserve its freshness.
💬 FAQ
No, it doesn’t have the “funky” smell you would find in authentic fish sauce. I have been working on a fermented vegan fish sauce recipe, which obviously has a more funky aroma, but it’s not quite ready yet. However, in my opinion, once diluted, you won’t be able to taste much difference between this one and a fermented one.
Due to the high salt level, this vegan fish sauce will last months! You can keep it in the refrigerator for at least 5 months (probably more).
There is absolutely no need to add seaweed to this recipe. Anyone who has tried authentic fish sauce will know it doesn’t have a “fishy” taste. I’m actually wondering why other vegan fish sauce recipes use seaweed.
Fish sauce consists of the juice of naturally fermented anchovies, while oyster sauce is made by reducing oysters, salt, and sugar until it caramelizes and thickens. Fish sauce has a watery consistency, while oyster sauce is very thick, like a glaze.
Nước Mắm is the Vietnamese name for fish sauce. Nước Chấm means dipping sauce, which is made with fish sauce, sugar, garlic, lime, and chili.
If you are looking for a tasty alternative to traditional fish sauce, you are going to love this plant-based version! It’s salty, a bit sweet, and perfect for elevating the flavor of plenty of dishes. Even non-vegans will enjoy this delicious plant-based alternative to fish sauce!
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Vegan Fish Sauce
Ingredients
- 9 ounces (255 g) pineapple chunks about 1/2 pineapple
- 1 dried shiitake mushroom
- 23 ounces (650 ml) water
- 2.8 ounces (80 g) salt
- 0.5 ounces (15g) rock sugar
- 1/8 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/8 tsp MSG Optional, to enhance the flavor.
Instructions
Prepare the pineapple
- Slice the pineapple. Lay the pineapple on a cutting board and cut off the top and bottom parts. Next, slice the pineapple into 1-inch thick slices. Cut off the peel and discard.Cut it into chunks. Slice each slice into quarters and set aside.
Simmer
- Soak the shiitake mushroom. Place the dried shiitake mushroom in a small bowl and cover it with 3.5 ounces (100ml) of hot water. Let it rehydrate for about 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a saucepan. Transfer the soaking water of the shiitake, pineapple chunks, and remaining water (19.5 ounces/550ml) to a saucepan.
- Let simmer. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes uncovered.
- Add the salt and simmer again. Next, add the salt, rehydrated shiitake mushroom, and sugar. Let simmer for another 35-40 minutes or until it has reduced to 11.7 ounces (330ml).
Strain
- Strain the fish sauce using a fine sieve mesh and discard the pineapple chunks. You can now stir in the MSG, if using, and the dark soy sauce to give your fish sauce a beautiful golden brown color.
- To store the fish sauce, transfer it to a clean glass bottle and keep it in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Measure the liquid after simmering. It is essential to measure the amount of liquid left after simmering. You will need 330ml left in order to get the saltiness on point. If you have more, let it simmer for a few more minutes. If you have less, add water until it reaches 330ml.
- Store in the refrigerator. While you could store it at room temperature, keeping it in the refrigerator is preferable to preserve its freshness.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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